Local repair unit of Pratt & Whitney will make sense: IndiGo’s Elbers

livemint.com:

₹188.9 crore in the quarter ended 30 September on the back of a rise in income following the recovery in air traffic. In the year-ago period, the company had recorded a loss of ₹1583 crore. However, IndiGo is staring at a second headwind related to engine availability as Pratt & Whitney is set to recall some of its engines starting January, resulting in substantial aircraft groundings.

Currently, more than 40 aircraft of IndiGo remain grounded due to supply chain issues following shortage of engines and spares. “The airline is operating the capacity we promised to operate. Does that make me happy about the situation? Of course, not.

We wish it was not there. Yes, we continue to work on the first issue, yes, we continue to work on the supply chain. Yes, I aspire Pratt & Whitney to provide us with the engines and address supply chain issue and simultaneously, we continue to work on the second one," Elbers said.

The airline has already retained 14 A320ceos (current engine option) in its fleet, extended leases and reinducted 36 aircraft, and executed damp leases of 13 aircraft. It is also in the process of executing leases for 12 additional A320ceos from the secondary market with deliveries expected from January 2024. The airline also did not rule out discussions with the lessors of Go First aircraft.

“We are in touch with a lot of different lessors in the world and wherever their planes are originating from, that is their process," Elbers said. On the international front, the airline will add Bali and Medina as two new destinations before the end of current financial year as it views strong travel sentiment among Indian flyers for international destinations. “The Indian customer is as diverse as the country is.